First 'Real' Wedding...Help!

[John Mac]

Doing my first real wedding on Saturday, having done some bits and pieces for friends, a reception last week, and general photo work locally and for the press etc. A few questions if anyone out there can help.

1. Is there any standard poses i.e should the groom be right or left?
2. My kit is the following
Canon 20d & 300d
17-40l
50mm 1.8
17-85 efs
75-300 4-5.6 i.s.
580 and 2 420 speedlights.
Stroboframe bracket (that i only got last week). What is my best combination?
3. I shoot in P mode generally, is this wise?

Thanks in advance.

[daclozer]

the search function is your friend.... There are tons of posts on all of the questions, but you need to look for them first

[Dermit]

Doing my first real wedding on Saturday, having done some bits and pieces for friends, a reception last week, and general photo work locally and for the press etc. A few questions if anyone out there can help.

1. Is there any standard poses i.e should the groom be right or left?
2. My kit is the following
Canon 20d & 300d
17-40l
50mm 1.8
17-85 efs
75-300 4-5.6 i.s.
580 and 2 420 speedlights.
Stroboframe bracket (that i only got last week). What is my best combination?
3. I shoot in P mode generally, is this wise?

Thanks in advance.

1. - Don't think the left/right matters a whole lot, but usually in the ceremony the groom is on the right as you are looking at them from the congregation so I usually shoot the groom on the right.

Side Note: When shooting other shots, i.e. cutting cake, etc. where bride/groom could be closer/further from the camera always always always put the bride closer. She paid a fortune for the dress and chances are the tux is a rental so any chance of seeing more of her and the dress the better. Other poses... study other wedding photographers web sites or bridal magazines, etc. and learn.

2. Decent gear. I typically shoot with my 580ex on a stroboframe with a Gary Fong light diffuser.

3. For indoor flash photography I shoot exclusively in Manual mode only. If you shoot in P mode you are going to get whatever the camera decides you get and that is not always good. Sometimes you want a shallow depth of field but the camera might pick f/5.6 or smaller. I always control 100% of my aperture/shutter/ISO settings to get the look I want for the shot I want. Granted this takes practice but it is not as hard as one would first think. Try it in practice, indoor with flash. Mess with aperture/shutter/ISO and see how they all effect flash photography. You can really get some more natural looking and creative shots if you break out of the P mode here. It's a must for more 'professional' looking shots.

[OdiN1701]

If you shoot in P mode, you're going to end up underexposing a lot when you have scenes with the bride's white dress in it.

[Samitude]

Most of the time the groom is posed on the right in official formal shots. Have the bride stand opposite the groom's boutenier. I believe that in military weddings the groom wears his sword on the opposite side that the bride is standing. In that case it is likely the other way around.

[i2iSTUDIOS]

You will really learn by experience with your own equipment, the more you shoot with your stuff the more you will know the situations that will be over/under exposed and the flash settings and how your lenses will function. Good luck.

[John Mac]

Thanks a mill for that everyone, any opinions on the best lenses out of my kit to use?

[RobKirkwood]

Thanks a mill for that everyone, any opinions on the best lenses out of my kit to use?My preference would be 17-40 on the 20D - and whatever other lens you're likely to need on the 300D ...if you need long, then the 75-300; if you don't need long but IS might be handy, then the 17-85. If you're struggling with low light levels, maybe the 50 f1.8 would be a better option on the 20D than the 17-40?

Rob

[liza]

Go to the rehearsal. It will help immensely in giving you ideas of how things will flow through the ceremony and angles from which you should shoot.